End of the road: Southernmost point marker

I didn't encounter any traffic to speak of all the way down and the speed limits were mostly 45 and 55mph. The road is not isolated at all, with plenty of gas stations, shops and restaurants along the way. The northeastern Keys seemed to me to have a different flavor than the southwestern ones. In the north, Key Largo is built up to the point that it looks more like a Miami suburb than an island. Stretching south toward Marathon the road had many picturesque spots (third & fourth pictures above). Marathon is a large island with a lot of development. Leaving Marathon the "7 Mile Bridge" (first picture below) defined the changeover to a more laid back tropical island feel characteristic of the southwestern Keys. Nearing Key West I took the advice I had been given ahead of the trip to pull over every so often and look at the sea life visible just below the water surface (second picture below).

I had been to Key West once before in December 1999 and much was the same as I drove in around 2:30PM. I stayed downtown on Duval Street at the historic la Concha Hotel, which was very good. After walking up and down Duval a couple of times to see what was new I grabbed a late lunch at the landmark Sloppy Joe's Bar (third picture above). As sunset approached, I and what seemed like most of the rest of the town walked up to Mallory Square where the sunset festival was in full swing (fourth picture above). Every evening a variety of street performers ply their trade on the square as the cruise ships, light blue Gulf of Mexico water and the sunset itself form their backdrop. The first picture below (which doesn't really do him justice) is of Dominique and his amazing flying housecats. The sunset itself was excellent (second picture below and large picture top left of page). I tried out Duval Street's live music spots through the evening before grabbing a late dinner at the Hog's Breath Saloon and calling it a day.